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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/28162032">Playing with Fire</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/SunflowerWoman/pseuds/SunflowerWoman'>SunflowerWoman</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Naruto</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Affairs, Angst, Arranged Marriage, Canon-Typical Violence, Complicated Relationships, Eventual Smut, Explicit Language, Explicit Sexual Content, F/M, Falling In Love, Fluff and Angst, Fluff and Smut, Forced Marriage, Forced Pregnancy, Love, Love Triangles, Love/Hate, Post-Fourth Shinobi War, Romance, Sex, Slow Burn, Vaginal Sex</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>In-Progress</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-12-19</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-12-21</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-10 18:28:04</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Explicit</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>3</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>15,797</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/28162032</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/SunflowerWoman/pseuds/SunflowerWoman</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Konoha is forcing its citizens to marry and mate someone of the council's choosing; a desperate measure to ensure the future of the village and its declining shinobi population. Although Sakura has been paired with her long-time love Sasuke Uchiha, that doesn't mean that feelings are mutual and boundaries won't be crossed. It's new territory for them both, and on top of unraveling the layers of her relationship with Sasuke, Sakura finds herself attracted to her best friend's match, and a forbidden affair ensues. Can she handle her emotions well enough to decide who - and what - she really wants? And once she decides, does she even have the freedom to pursue it?</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Haruno Sakura &amp; Inuzuka Kiba, Haruno Sakura &amp; Uchiha Sasuke, Haruno Sakura/Inuzuka Kiba, Haruno Sakura/Uchiha Sasuke, Inuzuka Kiba &amp; Yamanaka Ino, Inuzuka Kiba/Yamanaka Ino</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>9</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>36</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. Matched</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>I promised some redditers an Ino x Sakura fic, and don't worry! It's still coming! This chapter just forced its way from my fingertips first... So I hope you enjoy, and if not, stay tuned for the upcoming Sakura x Ino romance story that's in the works. :)</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>The summer heat beat down on every citizen of Konoha as though endless suffering was the sun’s way of showing its love. It had been an unusually dry Spring, and with the Summer came the worst drought anyone had seen in years. Sakura knew it was bad because even trained shinobi used to extreme conditions were falling through the hospital doors with heat spells and other sun-drenched ailments. Normally Sakura spent her days caring for children and the elderly, and the only time she saw this many shinobi in sick beds was if a battle had broken out at one of the Land of Fire’s borders. But nothing that interesting had happened for a while, and yet still they came.</p><p>Something terribly wrong must have been going on.</p><p>Not a single cloud dotted the sky for miles, for days on end. Even the stars seemed to shine a little less as they, too, grew fatigued from whatever the hell was going on with the universe. Sakura, too, was growing tired, although for a different reason. Her mother was getting anxious about grand-children, something she wanted dearly but Sakura had failed to provide. Even though Sakura had told her mother that she just didn’t feel ready for children, hadn’t found the right partner for the job, and was too busy in her work life to even <em>think</em> about raising a child, her mother was undeterred. “You know, that friend Naruto of yours already has a second kid on the way!” she would prattle on, cutting the crusts off of the sandwich she was preparing for her daughter. “Surely you want your own child to play with others his age? Don’t you want to have kids with your friends?”</p><p>A vein in Sakura’s forehead would throb every time the topic arose, and even now when she was far away from her mother’s forceful gaze, that same vein began to pulsate. Taking a deep breath, she steadied herself on the nurse’s station countertop before turning towards her next awaiting patient. They’d been there a while and she was only just now gotten through her list of patients to get to them. “Hopefully they’re a stranger,” she muttered as she turned the handle to one of the exam rooms.</p><p>Inside, she was surprised to see none other than her former sensei Tsunade standing at the window, surveying the courtyard outside. “Shisou,” Sakura exclaimed loudly. “What are you doing here?”</p><p>The former Hokage glanced at Sakura over her shoulder before returning her gaze to the courtyard. There were a few children playing tag despite the horrid temperatures, and she watched them closely. “It took you forty-two minutes from the time I entered the room for you to arrive, Sakura. You know a hospital can’t run on those numbers.” The children outside laughed loud enough for the sound to permeate the hospital walls, and Sakura got that same feeling of dread in her stomach that she had earlier that afternoon. Damned children. Why should she have to have one?</p><p>As though she could hear Sakura’s thoughts, Tsunade turned to Sakura then and crossed her arms over her chest. “I’m sure you’re aware of the state the village is in, Sakura.” </p><p>Sakura swallowed and clutched the plastic clipboard in her hand. “Of course. I’ve been helping document our birth rates. They’re low.” In fact, ever since the Fourth Shinobi War, birth rates had been at an all time low and death rates at a high. Normally wars won meant babies galore with all of the military returning home, but they lost a lot of good shinobi and no one felt much like celebrating once it was over. </p><p>Tsunade’s face was grim, her reddened lips pulled into a thin line. “Yes, they are. You’ve heard the rumors, as well?” She kept herself collected, which Sakura found more startling than when she went on a rampage. Perhaps it was because they were in the hospital with other patients around, but there could have been other reasons…</p><p>The rumor she spoke of was that due to the declining birth rates and dwindling academy enrollment, the village council and its elders feared that their military might would dwindle and the village would become vulnerable. More than that, they feared that other towns in Fire Country would seek out help from neighboring ninja villages other than Konoha. Kakashi was doing a good job quelling their fears, but there was only so much he could do. Especially since Naruto was priming for his ascension to leadership as well. But that wouldn’t come for a few more years, Sakura suspected, which meant that although Naruto could give input, the decision remained on Kakashi’s shoulders. Well, his and the elders’.</p><p>“I didn’t think you took much stock in rumors,” Sakura replied after a moment. “Unless you think there’s truth to them?” She tried to keep her voice steady, but Tsunade knew her so well that she would be able to sense her apprehension. She couldn’t hide anything from that woman.</p><p>Tsunade’s eyes turned steely and she tapped her fingers against her forearm. “I’m here to check your fertility, Sakura. They thought it best that I do the procedure, and I agreed. You know the only reason they would be doing these tests.” </p><p>Sakura turned to the tray laid out beside the patient cot and paled. The instruments on the table confirmed Tsunade’s story; she was here to check how fertile Sakura was. And if she had to guess, Tsunade had been up to this all day on all the other kunoichi in town. It was the only reason she would have been in the hospital without any surgeries booked. Slowly, Sakura nodded and sat at the table. “I could do this myself, you know,” she responded cooly, laying back. “I don’t need help.”</p><p>“You don’t,” Tsunade confirmed, snapping on a pair of latex gloves. “But they need to verify that the test is done correctly and not forged. Not that <em>I</em>  think you would do that, but they’re trying to formalize everything so that the transition goes smoothly.</p><p><em>Transition.</em> Sakura turned the word in her mind a few times while Tsunade got to work. It would sure be a transition, all right. If the rumors were true, and it seemed exceedingly likely that the rumors <em>were true</em>, all shinobi ages eighteen and up would be paired with a… mate… whose fertility rate complimented and whose chakra merged well. If marriage was suitable, the two would marry, copulate, and pop out a few kids. If marriage was declined, well, there were other ways to produce offspring. But for the sake of clan lines, Sakura knew that some shinobi <em>had</em> to marry. </p><p>“Who do you think everyone will be paired with?” Sakura asked, feeling Tsunade’s touch on her abdomen as she drew out some of her chakra and stored it in a labelled container. “Do you think there will be any deserters?”</p><p>Tsunade scoffed, a needle held between her teeth. She grabbed the needle and jabbed it into Sakura’s thigh, none too gently. “They can try. But the orders they signed upon joining the academy don’t give them much room for escaping. They’d have to become deserters, and no one wants that life. I hear some of the other villages have already started their pairing process.’” Sakura shivered as the injection took hold, and Tsunade rubbed the spot with her fingers. “I’m too old for a match,” she said quietly, her brows furrowing. “But you’re a prime candidate. If I bet any money on your match, I’d say it’s Uchiha.” </p><p>Sakura’s heartbeat picked up but thankfully Tsunade didn’t say anything about it. Every time Sakura heard of the pairing rumor, she immediately thought of Sasuke. As a girl, he was all she ever wanted - mysterious, sullen, a cool boy. As an adult she remained fond of her teammate and was sure there could be something between them if they tried hard enough, but he was never around enough for them to try <em>anything</em>. The one time she had invited him to lunch after the war, he stood her up since he was called on a mission. Forgot to tell her about it, so he insisted upon his return. </p><p>Sighing, Sakura watched Tsunade pack up Sakura’s samples. “That’s it?” The process was quicker than she had anticipated. “I feel fine.”</p><p>“Some others felt nauseous afterwards, but you’re <em>my</em> student, after all. Of course you feel fine.” Tsunade snorted and threw one of her pigtails over her shoulder. “It’ll take a few days for the results to come through. They have to test your chakra with all the male shinobi in the village, so it can take a while.” She turned to Sakura then and looked more motherly than she had since Sakura first started training with her over a decade ago. “Try getting more information out of Naruto, hm?  He’s in all those meetings I’m not privy to these days, thank the gods.” </p><p>She paused before adding, “but I’m a bit more involved than I’d like to be, admittedly.”</p><p>Tsunade released Sakura from duty for the next few days until her results came back, and the pair talked about the places Tsunade had travelled in her absence over the past few months. When the sun finally began to set and the air cooled enough to be tolerable, Sakura wished Tsunade well and left to go see if Naruto had any answers for all the questions swimming in her head.</p>
<p></p><div class="center">
  <p>- o -</p>
</div>It was rare to find the man at home, so part of Sakura felt bad for taking up Naruto’s time with his family, but the other part of Sakura felt so welcomed by the warmth of his and Hinata’s home that she accepted their invitation to dinner. It wasn’t until Boruto was put to bed, however, that Naruto poured the sake and the adults could truly speak their minds.<p>Naruto cradled his glass in his hand and stared into its depths as he spoke. “It wasn’t a decision Kakashi made lightly. Please understand that.”</p><p>Sakura licked her lips, wondering just how much sake the man had at his disposal. Since training under Tsunade, it took a lot to put her out, and she had a feeling that was <em>exactly</em> what she wanted to do tonight. She nodded to Naruto so that he would continue. He was never one for words while they were genin, but he had been working on the skill over the past few years in preparation for becoming Hokage. And Sakura knew this was another chance for him to practice his speech for anyone else who came asking about the pairings. She didn’t interrupt as he spoke. </p><p>“The daimyo can be very pushy. We’ve been having these conversations for months now. What to do about our declining population. How to encourage more marriages and, well, ‘intercourse’.” He screwed up his nose at the term, clearly not his choice of words. “They kept going on and on about how when they were young, their generation fucked anything that moved and there must be something wrong with us.” Naruto grimaced and Sakura tried not to snicker at his despair. “For real, it’s like they don’t realize that it’s not that we don’t want to fuck, but there’s not a lot of options, y’know?” </p><p>This surprised Sakura since she knew he had chosen to be with Hinata as soon as the war ended. “Are you… unhappy, Naruto?” she asked, glancing towards the hall light. Hinata was lying down since her feet had swollen from her pregnancy. “I didn’t expect to hear that from <em>you.</em>”</p><p>Naruto scowled and downed his cup of sake. “I’m not <em>un</em>happy. I’m just… There’s a lot on my mind, is all. It’s not just my happiness I have to think about anymore, Sakura. It’s <em>everyone’s</em>, and that includes yours.” He raised his cerulean irises to meet hers, and the sadness there made Sakura shiver. “I want you all to be just as happy as me and Hinata. I want you all to be able to choose who you love. But the Daimyo have a point; we’re losing good shinobi and have been for years. Our academy classes keep getting smaller; last year, we only had two full squads graduate. <em>Two</em>, Sakura. That’s not even enough to fill border patrol. That’s not even enough for anything!”</p><p>He pinched the bridge of his nose tightly between his fingertips. “We honestly should have implemented this plan years ago. But we didn’t realize the situation we’d be in. It’s not like people aren’t having sex. Right? That’d be stupid to assume. So something must be happening with fertility rates instead.”</p><p>“You and Hinata seem to be doing just fine,” Sakura commented, glad to see a smile grow on Naruto’s lips. </p><p>“Yeah, we are.” A warmth entered his voice then and he poured himself and Sakura more sake. “But we’ve been doing research. I’m surprised you haven’t heard about it, actually, since it’s all that medical stuff. Something about how my sage chakra aided in the birthing process, or whatever.” He shrugged one shoulder. “But do you know anyone else our age with kids? Even those who are married - Choji, for instance - they’ve been together almost as long as Hinata and me and they don’t have any kids. Not for lack of trying, either, Choji tells me.” Naruto’s brows furrowed and he exhaled sharply. “So something else is wrong. That’s why we’ve ordered everyone’s fertility rates to get tested.”</p><p>“And their chakras?” Sakura questioned. “Tsunade took some of my chakra today. You’re going to match it to other shinobi?” </p><p>Naruto nodded. “Not just shinobi, but civilians too. Although shinobi take precedence, of course. The goal is to match someone with a higher fertility rate with someone with a lower fertility rate so that they balance each other out. But the chakras have to compliment each other as well, and the possible kekkei genkai. There’s a lot that goes into it. Shikamaru is one of the ones sorting through all that.”</p><p>Sakura couldn’t help the blush that crept on her cheeks from having one of her coworkers sort through even her files. “I-is he the one making the final decision then? On who’s matched?”</p><p>“No, it’ll be a committee of five people. Kakashi, Shikamaru, Tsunade, myself, and one of the daimyo. We need five people in case there’s a tie. But we’re thinking each person will have three matches total.” Naruto held up three fingers to count them off. “One who matches both in fertility and chakra, one who matches just chakra-based, and one who matches solely fertility-wise. But Tsunade was saying something about how that won’t work and it’ll have to be done differently.” He scratched the back of his head and smiled sheepishly. “I’m still figuring it all out, Sakura. You can’t expect me to know everything!”</p><p>Chewing on the inside of her cheek, Sakura hummed in acknowledgement. “Tsunade’s right, though - it would be best to match everyone’s chakra and fertility and then simply give the top three matches.”</p><p>“Do you want to be on the committee, Sakura? You can take my place, y’know.”</p><p>Sakura rolled her eyes and punched Naruto’s thigh. “No, idiot, you’re the future Hokage. You have to be involved.”</p><p>“Oh… right.” </p><p>They grew silent and listened to the crickets chirp outside. Now that the sun had set, it was bearable out and people walked the streets leisurely, enjoying starlit strolls. Couples wandered around aimlessly, and Sakura watched them all, wondering if the upcoming pairings would ruin any relationships. She saw a blonde woman and immediately thought of Ino - she hadn’t been able to keep a man down to save her life, but maybe now one would be assigned to her…</p><p>“Do you think…” she started, tapping her nail against the ceramic glass in her hand. “Are personalities taken into consideration? Or history with the other person?”</p><p>Naruto exhaled loudly and leaned back on his couch, throwing his arms over the cushions. “No,” he grumbled lowly. “No, they’re not. Not if the daimyo have any say in it. But that’s what Kakashi and I are arguing for - just because two people may be best suited to make a baby doesn’t mean they will make good parents together.”</p><p>Hinata appeared from around the corner and apologized for interrupting. Boruto was awake and wanted his dad to tell him another ninja story. Naruto grinned madly and jumped up from the couch. “Oh yeah! This time we’ll tell him about the pig farmer who tried to teach ‘em how to hunt for mushrooms and had us teachin’ ‘em! Remember that, hon?”</p><p>He was gone in a flash, Hinata trailing behind him and muttering confirmations at each interval. Apparently this was routine. </p><p>Sakura smiled at their receding footsteps and chose that moment to depart, jumping out their first floor window with ease. She hit the pavement and started walking without a purpose, merely wandering like the rest of the village. It gave her space to think, a place without borders where she could be alone with her thoughts, allow them to expand and fill the spaces between the stars. She looked up as she gathered her thoughts, not needing to navigate since she had memorized the village roadways long ago.  </p><p>There wasn’t anything she could do about the pairing. Not really. If the Hokage and daimyo agreed that it was the best solution to their declining birth rates, she had to go along with it. She signed an order upon joining the ninja academy all those years ago. If she disobeyed, it would be desertion. And she didn’t really want that. </p><p>The thought of desertion and the midnight blue skies reminded her of Sasuke, and of what Tsunade had said earlier. What if plain ol’ Sakura Haruno, heiress to nothing,was paired with the infamous Sasuke Uchiha? Would that even work?</p><p>Her heart rate picked up at the idea of marrying her childhood crush. No, Sasuke was more than that. He was her first love, even if it was unrequited. She paused beneath a street lamp and kicked at its base. Could she learn to love Sasuke again? Or had she never really stopped?</p><p>Chewing on the inside of her cheek, she pondered her feelings for what felt like hours. The constellations travelled the skies methodically, and she found herself lying on the grass of the training grounds where she had taken her first bell test with Team Seven. The air was somehow both crisp and earthen, seemingly just as confused as Sakura’s heart. She knew that a part of her would always love Sasuke, but that wasn’t romantic love - it was something else. Possibly the same kind of love Naruto had for him. Or anyone, for that matter. He was part of the rookie nine. Despite his flaws and how chaotic his adolescence, that wouldn’t change. </p><p>And what if she wasn’t paired with him? What if she was mulling all this over for no reason other than to torture herself? Sighing, Sakura covered her eyes with her forearm and took deep, steadying breaths. </p><p>There was nothing she could do but wait and see. Three days. That’s how long she assumed the testing would take. And that was how long she was willing to wait.</p>
<p></p><div class="center">
  <p>- o -</p>
</div>The announcement came with great ceremony; it seemed that Kakashi planned to unveil the pairings along with the explanation of what that entailed all at once. Tsunade, Naruto, Shikamaru, and the chosen daimyo all stood behind him. To his credit, Naruto didn’t look too uncomfortable; at least he wasn’t shuffling back and forth on his feet like the daimyo. Sakura snorted at the old man’s posture and decided he was a waste of space on that council.<p>Seeing Tsunade up there when she had insisted she didn’t know enough about the pairings to tell Sakura <em>hurt</em> since Sakura had always considered them close. It wasn’t like Tsunade to keep things from her that directly related to her life and well-being. But maybe since she was no longer the Hokage, her hands were tied.</p><p>“Sakura!” Ino Yamanaka, one of the prettiest kunoichi in the entire village, came blustering through the crowd towards her friend. “Hey, why didn’t you tell me this shit was going on, huh? You knew what all those tests were for and just decided not to tell me?” She huffed and blew her bangs out of her eyes. “Some friend you are!”</p><p>Scowling, Sakura crossed her arms and stuck her tongue out at Ino. Sometimes, childish behavior couldn’t be helped. “Well, Ino-<em>chan</em>,” she mocked, enoying the way Ino’s eyebrow ticked in annoyance. “You didn’t need to know.”</p><p>“Ha!” the blonde cried, poking Sakura’s shoulder roughly. “Well it seems you weren’t good enough to land a spot up there, at least. That means we’re on the same level here. And your chances of being paired with the better men in town are as good as mine. Although, it’s a shame we haven’t unlocked the secrets of same-sex procreation; some of the women in here are <em>to die for.</em>” Ino eyed a woman named Ninoni and smiled at her fondly. “But I guess that’s not in the cards for us yet, eh, Sakura?”</p><p>Kakashi had begun speaking but his words fell on deaf ears. By then, everyone knew what was going on, so all they were waiting for was the pairings. Sakura had a feeling that they would be finding out any minute now. </p><p>The Hokage cleared his throat and the crowd finally settled. “Well, since the formalities are out of the way and you all know the basics, we’re going to announce your pairings. Now, we are only showing you your number one pairing. Although there are three people in total you’ve matched with, we want to try and have the most optimal successes. So you need to give this person a fair shot before dismissing them for someone else on your list.” This time he gave a stern glance Ino’s way and the woman’s cheeks colored. “We have a number of tests for you to undergo with your partner, from something as basic as introductions to more challenging tests of chakra manipulation. Not everyone you’re paired with may be a shinobi, and that’s okay - remember, even some of the greatest among us don’t have clan ties.” </p><p>Sakura knew that everyone on the platform was scouting out her pink hair in that moment, so she picked at a hangnail and avoided their gaze. </p><p>“So, without further ado. Your pairings.”</p><p>A scroll appeared at everyone’s feet, the ribbon wrapped around the scroll imprinted with the individual’s name. Sakura stared at her scroll’s pink ribbon while everyone around her bent over to pick theirs up and open it. She heard Ino cry out in disbelief and vainly tried to tune out her shock. “Kiba! I got fucking <em>Kiba</em>, can you believe it?”</p><p>Ino grew impatient with Sakura’s staring at the scroll and bent over to pick it up. “You could at least pretend to be interested, y’know. Here.” She shoved the scroll into Sakura’s abdomen and forced her to take it. “C’mon, open it up already!”</p><p>The scroll was thick parchment, infused with chakra apparently to make sure that only the designated person opened it. She guess it was supposed to be somewhat private business, although she could hear people explaining their matches all over the place. Glancing up, she was surprised to see that even Naruto and Kakashi had a scroll at their feet, and she made a note to ask them both about that later. Naruto was happily married and shouldn’t need a scroll, and Kakashi… Well, it was <em>Kakashi.</em> No one but him and his secret lovers knew what went on in his romantic life. </p><p>The scroll began to vibrate, urging Sakura to open it. She pursed her lips and gripped the scroll tight. She didn’t want to open it. She didn’t want to seal her fate and tie herself to this other person. But, the thread was already knotted with or without her consent, it seemed… </p><p>Tugging at the silk ribbon, it fell away easily and the scroll unraveled in the palm of her hand. Staring up at her in bold ink was the name of the man she had pined over as a child, the one man she wasn’t sure she had ever really gotten closure from, and the one she knew was watching her right now. If Sakura knew Sasuke like she thought she did, she knew he wouldn’t be amongst the crowd. Ignoring Ino’s pleas for the name of her pairing, Sakura turned and scanned the edges of the clearing. They were standing in a ceremonial space with concrete walls all around, and as she turned, she spotted the man she was looking for eyeing her from a distance.</p><p>Surely she was easy to see among the crowd with her bubblegum pink hair, but Sasuke would have been able to find her anywhere even without his eyes. Maybe now that was a good thing. </p><p>Kakashi calmed the crowd enough to proclaim over the rumblings that the first “test” of their new match would be tomorrow morning at ten o’clock. The location for the test would be revealed to them on their scrolls one hour before it began.</p><p>Sakura clutched the scroll in her hand and despite her strength, the paper refused to crumple. That in itself was irritating enough. But when Sakura turned back to look at Sasuke again, he was already gone. And that ticked her off even more.</p><p>It was going to be a long, <em>long</em> day tomorrow.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0002"><h2>2. Growing Pains</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>True to Kakashi’s word, the scrolls foretold the pairings’ meeting places one hour prior to their appointment for the first task. Whatever the hell that meant. “It feels like the Chuunin exams all over again,” Ino whined as she and Sakura walked to their destination. Their scrolls had said the same place, and Ino hadn’t left Sakura’s side all night while she bitched and moaned about being partnered with Kiba. Her frustration continuing into the day, as during their walk, she repeated some of her complaints from the previous night.</p><p>“He always smells like a dog!” </p><p>Sakura kept her hands in her pockets as they walked, thumbing the edge of her scroll absentmindedly. “Mhm. That’s true.”</p><p>“He’s loud and obnoxious and always has that- that mischievous look in his eyes, you know? Like he’s up to something. How can I ever take someone like that seriously! He’s the opposite of what I need.”</p><p>Trying not to simultaneously laugh and sigh, Sakura wondered aloud, “and what kind of person do you need? Someone less dominant than you?” As Ino fumed at her words, she continued. “I always imagined Kiba as an alpha type. Maybe he’ll be able to keep you on your toes.”</p><p>Ino scoffed and crossed her arms over her chest as they walked. “Yeah, well, I’ve dated men like him before and they always leave a lot to be desired.” The sun had started its ascent into the sky a few hours earlier and the air was warming quickly. Thankfully the lack of rain meant it was a dry heat, but both shinobi felt a thin layer of sweat already breaking out on their bodies. Ino whined again, this time complaining about how her perfume could mask her own body odour but not Kiba’s <em>too</em>. </p><p>As they rounded the corner on their stone pathway, they saw that others were already waiting ahead. Sakura and Ino weren’t late - they were eight minutes early. By the looks of some of the others, they had arrived much, much earlier. One woman was bouncing on her heels, no doubt anxious or excited. Ino and Sakura made up a game and as they stood apart from the others, they would point out someone and guess who their partner was based upon their demeanor. </p><p>“That one’s definitely partnered with Choji - look, she even brought some chips with her!”</p><p>Sakura raised an eyebrow and stared at the woman in question. She looked mildly excited. “Choji’s married, Ino, he won’t be here,” Sakura commented, finding her friend’s obliviousness disheartening. </p><p>Ino shook her head and clutched Sakura’s forearm. “No, Sakura, I saw Choji at the assembly yesterday with Karui. They both got scrolls and looked just <em>awful</em> when they opened theirs. You didn’t see them?” The desperation in Ino’s voice made Sakura sniff. “There were a lot of couples there who still got scrolls. And I doubt any of them were paired together.”</p><p>Why would the council do that? Ino’s grip on Sakura’s arm became more insistent, but Sakura ignored her. She had noticed that Naruto received a scroll yesterday but that didn’t make sense - not only was Naruto <em>married</em>, but he was already expecting his second kid. Why the hell would he get a scroll too? </p><p>Choji and Karui were married but did not have any children. Was Kakashi really planning on forcing marriages apart? “That’s ridiculous,” Sakura finally replied, her voice low so others wouldn’t eavesdrop. “It makes no sense. Sure, times are desperate but that’s a bit extreme, don’t you think?”</p><p>Another voice from behind them answered, startling both women enough that they turned around in unison. </p><p>“Definitely extreme,” Kiba yawned, not bothering to cover his mouth. “But Choji hasn’t had any kids so maybe he and Karui were on the rocks anyway. I’ve seen them around town and they look happy enough, but there’s always that whiff of sadness if you get close enough. Right, Akamaru?” The nin-dog barked softly in confirmation. Kiba turned his gaze from his companion to the two women in front of him. He had removed both his fur-lined coat and his flak jacket in preparation for the day’s heat, so he stood in simple gray slacks and a darker gray shirt. The fabric was so thin that it was almost translucent. </p><p>He must have caught Sakura staring because he smiled wide enough to show his fangs. “Well, someone likes what she sees. Too bad this one isn’t as open-minded as you, Sakura,” he said evenly, pointing to Ino with his thumb. “I could hear her gripin’ the whole walk over. Ouch, by the way. Aren’t you even going to give me a chance? Or are you really as much of a bitch as they say?”</p><p><em>Oh shit.</em> Sakura felt Ino’s grip tighten on her arm as her friend glared at Kiba. “Dog-boy,” she hissed, taking a step towards him and jabbing him in the chest with her finger. “No one else would have been able to hear that!”</p><p>Kiba snorted and leaned even closer to her, allowing her fingernail to dig into his shirt. “Trust me, you don’t need heightened senses to hear your loud mouth.”</p><p>Oh great. This was going <em>so well.</em> Sakura heaved a sigh and pulled Ino from Kiba. “Well if anything, you two will have great sex,” she murmured under her breath. Ino must not have heard her over the blood pounding in her ears but Kiba barked a laugh, his dark eyes sparkling. His attention shifted to her again and she found herself uncomfortable, so she pinched Ino’s arm. “He’s right though,” she declared loudly, forcing the blush threatening to color her cheeks away by the sheer force of her will. “You’ve gotta give him a chance, Ino. It’s part of the process.” </p><p>Their attention was called away by one of the ANBU shinobi raising their hands at the front of the group. “If all pairs would please come this way; we’re about to start your first challenge.”</p><p>Sakura looked around the area at all of the faces and didn’t see Sasuke’s. Was he late? Did he even care to show up? </p><p>She felt a hand on the small of her back and looked over her shoulder to find him standing there. Both Ino and Kiba had already started walking ahead, still bickering, and didn’t notice Sasuke’s arrival. “Sakura,” he greeted, his face an unwavering mask. She nodded and replied in kind. “Sasuke.”</p><p>They walked towards the ANBU and watched as other couples were given bracelets to wear. After the agent made a few hand signs, the bracelets glowed and zinged like two swords scraping each other. Then, he waved the pair off and beckoned the next forward. </p><p>Ino caught Sakura’s eye as she and Kiba started walking off with their bracelets already secured, pointing to Sasuke and looking a little mischievous herself. She mouthed something but Sakura had stopped looking and didn’t read her lips. They approached the ANBU and the same sequence followed: cuffs on, seals made, bracelets lit and singing before they returned to their normal silver hue. </p><p>“You have two hours to get to know your partner,” the ANBU instructed. Their boar mask didn’t let Sakura know who it was, but she had a feeling she recognized the voice. “These bands are kind of like magnets - try to get more than six feet apart from each other, and they will force you back together. The more you try to pull apart, the closer it will force you. I wouldn’t test it unless you want to end up on each other’s laps.” He waved them away unceremoniously and bid the next couple forward.</p><p>“Well,” Sakura found herself saying as they walked towards one of Konoha’s footpaths beneath the trees. “Where to?” She avoided looking at Sasuke and instead stared straight ahead. It had been months since they had even said hello to each other, so all in all Sakura was feeling a little nervous. A little <em>awkward.</em> She wondered if he felt the same.</p><p>“Wherever you want to go,” Sasuke breathed softly. He was maintaining a two feet distance from her, but at least it wasn’t the full six feet. Sakura imagined that Ino and Kiba would maintain that six foot distance and accidentally cross it, forcing them side by side eventually. The thought had her smiling.</p><p>Sasuke must have noticed her smile since he hummed to himself and asked, “Thinking of something?” </p><p>Sakura’s smile froze and she kept it on to remain polite. “Oh, just about Kiba and Ino. I think they’ll work out as long as they don’t bite each other’s heads off.” She heard him give his tell-tale <em>hn</em> response and sighed, her smile fading immediately. She was surprised to hear Sasuke speak up again.</p><p>“And what do you think about us?”</p><p>Her jade eyes widened and she side-eyed Sasuke. He was side-eying her as well, and if she didn’t know any better, she’d think he looked <em>curious</em>. Curious about what? Her thoughts on the matter? Or something else?</p><p>“Why don’t we sit over there?” she blurted out, pointing towards a bench hidden in the shade. “It’ll be cooler if we stay there.” Sasuke didn’t object so they sat beside each other on the bench. The metal was still cool from the night time dip in temperatures, and Sakura was grateful. She leaned back in the chair to cover as much surface area as possible, goosebumps rising on her skin from the blanket of cold on her back and thighs. </p><p>Sasuke seemed even more amused, if the twitch of his lip could be interpreted as such. “Well?” he asked.</p><p>Sakura laced her hands over her stomach and took a deep breath. “Why don’t you go first? What do you think about us?”</p><p>He didn’t hesitate to answer. “It’s probably the only match I would have hoped for, given the circumstances.” He leaned back as well and drew his arm over the back of the bench, his fingertips resting against the nape of Sakura’s neck. It was like he was testing the waters, seeing how physical affection might look. Might <em>feel</em>. </p><p>But if that was his idea of affection, they had a long way to go. </p><p>Sakura tapped the pads of her fingers against her knuckles. Two hours was a long gap of time to fill. Were they really going to talk the entire time? Part of her itched for some action; her muscles ached from disuse. The hospital used chakra more than muscle, so it had been a while since she had done any sort of taijutsu training. She could feel the strain from pulling long hours at the hospital. It was taking a toll on her physique. </p><p>“Your turn.”</p><p>The vein in Sakura’s forehead began to twitch. He was always a man of few words, which as a child she found attractive. Mysterious. As an adult, however, it only made him a puzzle she had to solve. And she wasn’t sure if she was up to the task. But, just like she had told Ino that she had to give Kiba a chance, she knew that she too had to give Sasuke a chance. It wasn’t like she had much choice in the matter.</p><p>Sighing, she turned her head to look at the man. He was relaxed, which was a rare sight. But she supposed that after the war, there wasn’t much that could get under his skin anymore. Of course, his adjustment home mustn’t have been easy; many shinobi didn’t trust him and shied away from him on sight. Sakura had been one of the few to try and welcome him, but he had shoved her off, too. </p><p>He was watching her now, his lips parted just enough to make Sakura stare at them. She had spent many hours as a teenager wondering what those lips would taste like, feel like against her own, and here they were, right in front of her. She wondered if he’d even want a kiss or if he was purely functional: gonna fuck and dash. Hmm. Would it change based upon their relationship?</p><p>He was still waiting for her response. She opened her mouth but no sound came out. What did she think about them being paired together? Was it fate, or was it simply a cruel joke the gods were playing on her? Would he really care to hear every single thought in her head, from the tiniest detail to the loudest roar? Would that just annoy him?</p><p>She sealed her lips and sat up, shifting so that her left leg was pulled under her while her right one dangled over the edge of the seat. She took Sasuke’s hand from the back of the seat and placed it between her palms. “Let’s try something.” Just like before undergoing any medical procedure, she briefed him on what she was about to do. “Naruto told me that people were paired based upon their chakras’ compatibility. We’ve never done any jutsu together before, so we’ve never tested our chakras together. We’ve never had to.” Sasuke’s hand was warm between her own and for a split second, she worried her palms would sweat all over his, but she quickly squashed the thought.</p><p>Treat this just like you would any other procedure, she told herself. This is routine. <em>Sort of.</em></p><p>Clearing her throat, she continued. “There’s a way to test chakra compatibility very easily. All you have to do is press a little chakra into your palm as I press some into mine. Now, we have to visualize our chakra sort of zipping together - think of it like unweaving a thread and then stitching it back together again, only with two colors of thread this time instead of one. You got that?”</p><p>Sasuke nodded, shifting so that his torso faced hers. “Alright. If that’s what you want to do.”</p><p>He was being oddly compliant for someone so sure of himself and his actions. He didn’t usually defer to her, according to their past missions together. Maybe he <em>had</em> changed. </p><p>Without thinking about it, Sakura closed her eyes. It was easier for her to focus her chakra if she pretended he wasn’t the one she was sharing it with. “Okay,” she breathed, holding his hand between her own. It was larger than hers so she couldn’t quite cover all of it. But its warmth kept her grounded in what she was doing. “Ready?”</p><p>If he nodded, she couldn’t see it. But she felt his chakra in her hands, pattering against her skin almost like raindrops. She knew his chakra nature was lightning, so she expected to feel pin-pricks instead of soothing rain. Maybe he was holding back so he wouldn’t harm her. She released some of her own chakra and pressed it against his. While his chakra took to hers like fire to paper, hers was slower to accept his, but it accepted it nonetheless. All her chakra needed was time and a little coaxing to unravel. It took about ten minutes for the entire process, from start to finish. By the end, their chakras were woven together between their hands, and they could feel the thrum of each other’s life force. </p><p>That was something not everyone knew about chakra - when you tapped into it just right, you could check on someone’s overall wellness. Sakura knew this from her medical training, but Sasuke must have known this from somewhere else because he immediately snagged on the tension in the muscles all over her body. “You’ve been slacking,” he murmured softly, “on your taijutsu. Your body needs release. And a good workout. Luckily, you can accomplish both at once.”</p><p>When Sakura opened her eyes, the one eye of his that she could see looked just like his chakra had felt - liquid, rippling. “Would you be interested in training with me? We could start a routine to get you in better shape. We can work around your shifts at the hospital.” </p><p>Sakura was still holding his hand between her own, but now their hands lay in her lap. While her eyes were closed, he must have scooted closer to her. Their knees were touching. She knew that he was probably offering to help her train in good faith, or at least that was what she was telling herself. But part of her wondered if she’d be able to keep up with him - he <em>was</em> an Uchiha after all. But she was a former student of one of the Sannin as well, so she shouldn’t be doubting herself so much.</p><p>Steeling her nerves, she nodded. “Yes, that might actually be nice. If you’re sure about it. I don’t want to start this routine if you’re going to bail on me later.” She saw a flash of something in his eyes - was it regret? - before he followed her example and nodded as well. “I’m sure,” he confirmed. “I’d like to get to know you better, to be honest, since we haven’t worked together in years.”</p><p>“We’ll be doing a lot more than working together if things go as planned, Sasuke,” she hummed, glancing up at him. She felt his chakra zap her skin and could have sworn he was blushing by how he looked away from her. “Yes,” he breathed once, deeply, and returned his gaze to her face. “Yes, we will be.”</p><p>Silence filled the space between them and slowly, Sakura pulled the threads of her chakra apart from his, releasing his hand from hers. She rubbed her palms against her shorts and smiled. All things considered, that didn’t go too badly. “It seems that our chakra is more compatible than I thought. Lady Tsunade must have run the tests to notice the rate of acceptance. That was pretty fast.” </p><p>Sasuke cleared his throat. “Do you know the timeline of this?” </p><p>Sakura blinked. “Timeline of what?”</p><p>“Of this… pairing.” Sasuke used his thumb to crack his knuckles. “Surely there’s a timeline for everyone to marry and have children. Kakashi didn’t mention it yesterday, and I’ve noticed that no one else seems to know. But you’re close with Tsunade. Has she said anything?”</p><p>“No, and neither did Naruto when I went to see him.”</p><p>Sasuke clicked his tongue. “He didn’t tell me either when I asked. I’m thinking it has to be soon if they’ve got us doing these tasks together on day one. If they’re smart, everyone will have to complete one task per day. If they give us ten tasks total, that gives us a little less than two weeks to decide if we want to get married.” He drew a breath and returned his arm to the back of the bench. “If they allow us clan traditions, our marriage would need preparation. You’d be becoming an Uchiha after all, and that requires a bit of ceremony. I’ll need to coordinate some things with you.”</p><p>Sakura’s mouth dried. She hadn’t really thought about the logistics of getting married, much less to an Uchiha. “It can’t be that soon,” she choked out. “No way it’s going to happen that quickly. That’s insane. Everyone knows that you can’t fall in love in ten days.”</p><p>The look Sasuke gave her was one of pity. “They’re not looking for love, Sakura. They’re looking for offspring. The future of the village.” He smiled though, a small, polite smile. “But if you insist on love being a determiner, I’ll have to step up my game, won’t I? Not just anyone can make Sakura Haruno fall in love.”</p><p>This time when Sakura flushed, she couldn’t stop it. “W-what do you mean? I’ve been in love before!”</p><p>Sasuke tutted, his smile growing into more of a smirk. “Believe it or not Sakura, I’ve been watching you. You’ve had four boyfriends and one girlfriend over the past seven years since my return to the village. And every time you and your partner broke up, you were always the one to initiate it.” He tapped his fingernails against the bench, each tap seeming to echo around them. “That doesn’t sound like a woman in love to me.”</p><p>“You’ve been keeping tabs on me?” Sakura cried, her voice loud enough to startle birds from their perch a few trees over. “What the hell for? You’ve got some nerve, Uchiha.” She moved to stand but Sasuke grabbed her wrist. </p><p>“You misunderstand,” he spoke calmly. “I just wanted to-”</p><p>“To hell with what you want!” Sakura spat, tugging herself free from his grasp. “You want to marry me? Fine. But you’ve got to work for it. I’m not just gonna say yes like we’re twelve years old again. I’m not sold that this pairing business is really in my best interest, especially if it’s <em>you</em> I’m paired with.” She stood across from Sasuke now, her hands on her hips. “You’ve ignored me for years, only now to tell me that you ignoring me wasn’t really that? But some other weird, convoluted stalker thing?” She snorted. </p><p>Sasuke’s anger was growing and he stood, too. He clenched his fist at his side since he didn’t have another arm to cross. “Are you forgetting that we were teammates?” he ground out, his composure unraveling for once. “Of course I care about you. Maybe not how you always imagined, maybe not how you’re supposed to care about people, but I care in my own way.” The sun heated their bodies and he sighed in frustration. “Not everyone understands that - understands <em>me</em> - but I thought you would. Maybe I was wrong to think you were different.”</p><p>He turned away from her then and started walking in the other direction. “I’ll see you for our next task, Sakura.” He paused, and then added, “Don’t forget to send me your shift schedule so we can plan our training. I want to see how bad of shape you’re in.”</p><p>Sakura’s wristband snapped in half as he teleported away. She rubbed the angry welt on her wrist and grumbled. If he was able to break the band the entire time, why didn’t he? They could have gone their separate ways instead of wasting each other’s time. Clearly, no matter their chakra compatibility, this was never going to work. There was too much… <em>weirdness</em> between them. </p><p>Sighing, Sakura kicked at the dirt as she turned towards the hospital. Some work would keep her mind off of things - off of <em>him</em> - for at least a while. The scroll in her pocket warmed, the same scroll Kakashi had given everyone yesterday, and she pulled it out to inspect its contents. There on the front side was a green check mark by “Challenge 1”. Apparently they had cleared the first task. </p><p>She scoffed and read the writing beneath today’s time and location marker. “You will have one mandatory task per week. We encourage you to bond with your partner more on your own time. Your next task will be announced closer to the day and time.” </p><p>“Cha, as if,” she muttered, shoving the scroll back in her pocket. “Bonding on your own time. Please.” At least Sasuke has been wrong about the timeline. That gave her some satisfaction. She kept her hands in her pockets as she walked, spying other couples with wristbands all over the place. They all seemed to get along just fine. So what was wrong with her - or with Sasuke - that they just couldn’t figure it out?</p><p>And worse yet - what if they couldn’t figure it out before their time was up? Would they be <em>forced</em> to marry? Sakura groaned aloud and shoved the hospital door open with her shoulder. Once she was safely inside, she grabbed the first clipboard she could find and started making rounds. Halfway down the page, she saw Ino and Kiba’s name and laughed out loud. What on earth could they have done to end up here?</p><p>As she walked down the hall towards their room, she heard them before she saw them. </p><p>“Get your hand off my <em>ass</em>, Inuzuka! I swear to god, I will <em>maim</em> you!” </p><p>“Me? You’re the one who kept walking away from me! It’s your fault we’re in this mess! I’m only glued to your ass because you couldn’t control yourself!”</p><p>As the door to their room swung open, Sakura found their bodies smushed together like two marshmallows that sat in the sun too long. Were it not for their clothes and different skin tones, it would be hard to see where one ended and the other began. </p><p>“Sakura! Thank the gods you’re here! Get this oaf off of me!” Ino pleaded as soon as she saw her friend enter the room. “We’ve been stuck like this for ages! Hey, your bracelet is gone! How did you do that?”</p><p>Humming to herself as she walked around the merging shinobi, Sakura clicked her tongue and prodded at various spots on their bodies. “Sasuke did it, not me. It just kind of broke and he fled.” She squatted to get a closer look at Kiba’s bracelet and noticed it vibrating against his skin. “How many times did you guys try to separate?”</p><p>Kiba growled, a low sound that made him seem more canine than human. “<em>She</em> tried to run away at least six times. Six! I’ve never had a woman so repulsed by me in my entire life.”</p><p>“You kept trying to get me to enter your mind!”</p><p>“Yeah, because if you can read my thoughts, that’s much easier than talking, isn’t it?”</p><p>“No, it’s not!”</p><p>Trying to steer the conversation somewhere more productive, Sakura asked, “Have either of you tried infusing chakra into the wristbands?” Ino sputtered a yes while Kiba said he’d been using his muscles to try and rip the thing off. Sakura nodded to acknowledge their responses and pressed her fingertip against Kiba’s bracelet. She experimented with shooting a small bolt of her own chakra into the device and was surprised to find that Kiba’s chakra snapped back at her just as quickly. </p><p>That was odd.</p><p>He must have felt it too because he gasped and shivered at the same time. “‘Ey, what the hell are you trying to do? Don’t do that again. That was… weird.”</p><p>Raising an eyebrow at the bead of sweat dripping down Kiba’s neck - it was always cold in the hospital - she moved to Ino’s bracelet and tried the same thing. This time, Ino’s snapped off like Sakura had hoped Kiba’s would, and Ino fell off the patient cot and onto the floor with a <em>thud</em>. “Ow ow ow,” she cried, slowly rotating her joints to get some feeling back into her muscles. “Be more gentle next time, sheesh!”</p><p>Sakura rolled her eyes and ignored her. Kiba was able to shift so that he was sitting normally on the cot, hands in his lap, but his bracelet remained intact. “Hm,” Sakura murmured, taking Kiba’s hand to turn his arm this way and that way, eyeing the band from every possible angle. “Why didn’t yours come off?” </p><p>Kiba offered a half shrug as Sakura poked at the skin surrounding his cuff. It was red and sore. He sucked in a breath through his teeth as she massaged some of her chakra into the wound to start the healing process. “Dunno,” he winced, “but it better not stay there or imma-” The band lit up again and sent a powerful shock to both Sakura and Kiba, this time enough for both to exclaim out loud. </p><p>“Fuck!” Kiba cried, pulling his arm away from her. “I thought you were good at this stuff! What the hell!” His band cracked in half and fell to the floor with a loud clang, revealing the burnt skin underneath. “This shit’s crazy. They shouldn’t be messing with our chakra like that.” He grimaced at the sight of his wrist, undoubtedly in pain.</p><p>“What do you mean?” Sakura asked, helping Ino off the floor. “Do you want me to fix that?” She gestured to Kiba’s wrist but he shook his head aggressively. That was a <em>no.</em></p><p>Ino stretched her arms over her head and answered Sakura’s question. “We ran into another ANBU on our way in here. They took pity on seeing us like this and gave us some intel. They said that the bands were experimental at best and fused with our own chakras. That’s how they kept us together. Remember when they said it was like a magnet? Apparently that was part of the chakra thing.” She prodded at her own wrist. It looked fine compared to Kiba’s. “I don’t know the specifics, but they fused some of our chakras in the bands or something. They were supposed to come off after the two hour time limit, but since chakra conversion is a bit of a new science, they must have gotten something wrong.” Her expression turned sour as she looked at Kiba. “They <em>definitely</em> got something wrong.” </p><p>Kiba had his arm held out for Akamaru to sniff. By the time he glanced at Ino, the dog was licking at his wound. “What?”</p><p>Huffing, Ino turned to Sakura. “You see what I mean? This pairing thing is bogus. I need a new partner ASAP.” She thanked Sakura for her help said something about going to see Kakashi. She strode out the door, leaving Kiba alone in the room with Sakura. </p><p>Kiba sighed and rubbed the back of his neck with his free hand. “Is she always this much of a pain in the ass?”</p><p>Sakura stepped closer to Kiba to see if Akamaru was doing the wound any good. “It’s not usually this bad, no.” She removed her gloves and tossed them onto the counter across the room. “You really should let me look at that. It might get infected otherwise.” </p><p>Akamaru whined and Sakura smiled at him. “See? Even Akamaru agrees.” She ruffled the top of his head and scratched one of his ears. “Good boy. I bet you take good care of Kiba, don’t you?”</p><p>This time Akamaru barked, and Sakura’s smile softened even more. She released Akamaru and returned her attention to his master. “Alright, Kiba. Let me see it.” </p><p>He held the injured wrist to his chest and leaned away from her. “What if it just gets worse? Something must be wrong with your jutsu, because that shock earlier was no joke!”</p><p>Pursing her lips, Sakura pressed her palms against the edge of the cot, the paper crinkling as she clutched at it. She leaned over Kiba’s legs as she got closer and narrowed her jade eyes at him. “<em>Nothing</em> is wrong with my jutsu. It must have been the band. Now that it’s off, I can heal you no problem.” </p><p>Hesitantly, Kiba offered her his arm. She gently took his hand in her own and held the other one over his wound. Green light glowed from her palm and his wound was healed in a matter of seconds. <em>That</em> was unprecedented. So much so, that Sakura gasped aloud and turned his wrist in every direction to check it with her eyes. “No way,” she breathed, now massaging the skin with her thumbs. “Did you see how quickly that healed?”</p><p>Kiba’s brow furrowed as he used his other hand to check her temperature. He lay his palm against her forehead and exhaled a warm breath in her face. “Yeah, you’re one of the best, we get it.” </p><p>Her skin tingled where he touched and Sakura shivered. </p><p>“You feelin’ okay, Sakura? It’s like you’re not sure that should have worked. You sick or something? Sasuke got you all hot and bothered?” </p><p>Sakura felt her cheeks warm and she swatted Kiba’s hand away from her face, releasing his wrist as well. He snickered at her distress. “I just don’t understand,” she mumbled, her hands falling to her sides. Akamaru rubbed against one of her palms but she was too distracted to notice. “With the extent of your burns, that should have taken a few minutes, not a few seconds…”</p><p>“I guess you’re a better healer than even you give yourself credit for,” Kiba chirped, hopping off the cot and giving Akamaru a low five, the dog’s paw lifting just enough to meet his master’s hand. “Nothing to worry about, Akamaru. Sakura’s got us covered.” </p><p>Walking Kiba and Akamaru to the door, Sakura chewed on the inside of her cheek the entire time, tuning out whatever Kiba was saying. Ino’s band had come off no problem. It took a minimal amount of chakra. But Kiba’s stuck like glue, seemingly getting even more stuck the more chakra she poured into it, or something. And then he healed fast? Was it an Inuzuka thing? Something in their genes?</p><p>Kiba waved goodbye and he and Akamaru ran out of the hospital as fast as possible, gathering the attention of a few kids who chased them to the hospital gates as though they were all playing tag. As Sakura watched them leave, she chalked up her worries to nothing more than stress from the day. The wristbands were obviously malfunctioning. That was the only feasible explanation.</p><p>But later that afternoon, as she filled out the paperwork for Ino and Kiba’s visit, she couldn’t shake that electric tingle in her fingertips from where her chakra had touched Kiba’s... </p><p>...and where his had touched back.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0003"><h2>3. Release</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>It took a few days for Sasuke to appear. Sakura had avoided returning to her apartment - what would she find there but a empty rooms and a nagging mother stopping by to ask about the pairing process? - so she slept in one of the on-call rooms at the hospital. It was great because no one bothered her. Not even Ino, since she had other things to do. Tend to the flowers, probably. Whatever it was that Ino did regularly. </p><p>Sakura had heard from shinobi who came in for treatment that all missions outside the village had been put on hold for the next few weeks, unless there was a dire emergency that couldn’t wait. That meant that every single ninja was bumbling around the village with nothing to do but wait. And train. Sakura started doing laps around the hospital at night, but it didn’t soothe her muscles like she thought it would. If anything, she was growing even tenser. The worst part of it was that while running, her head cleared of all work from the day. An emptiness remained.</p><p>That emptiness was often filled with thoughts she’d rather avoid. Sasuke and how he watched her. Was he watching her now? Kiba and his weird chakra. The shock she felt from him. Naruto and his scroll. She’d called his home multiple times over the past few days but couldn’t get a hold of him - Hinata insisted that he was sleeping in the office. No doubt dealing with the aftermath of the pairings. If people were as furious as Ino, he’d have a lot of explaining to do. He and Kakashi both.</p><p>Chugging a sports drink, Sakura ignored the looks from her coworkers. They knew from experience that she only worked this hard when she was avoiding something. Or <em>someone</em>. Glaring at them over the bottle, Sakura watched them recede as swallowed the last of her drink. She tossed the empty bottle into recycling and jogged out the break room door. As soon as she rounded the corner towards the lobby, she saw the last person she wanted right now.</p><p>Turning her nose up, she walked right past him. He was leaning against the wall by the door and as she stepped passed him, he moved to match her stride. Nurses and medics gave them strange but knowing looks as the pieces of Sakura’s situation started coming together. “Go away,” Sakura grumbled, stopping just before a security door. “You can’t come in here.” </p><p>Sasuke looked almost bored as he rubbed his chin. Stubble had begun to grow there. Had he not shaven? “You haven’t come out.”</p><p>Rolling her eyes, Sakura tried to keep her voice down. “Watching me again, are you? How romantic.”</p><p>Sasuke’s lips pressed into a thin line and his nostrils flared. “What time does your shift end?”</p><p>“Shouldn’t you know? You can see everything with those eyes of yours. I’m surprised you even have to ask.” She tried to walk through the door but he held out his arm to stop her.</p><p>“What. Time. Do. You. Get. Off.” He narrowed his onyx eye at her and she couldn’t help the twisted smile forming on her lips. “That’s none of your business.”  Shoving past him, Sakura strode through the doors and turned around just to glare at him. He glared right back.</p>
<p></p><div class="center">
  <p>- o - </p>
</div>The chill of the hospital made the outside world feel amazing, especially at night. Sakura was stretching by the hospital gate, getting ready for her run, when she sensed Sasuke’s chakra. He must have wanted her to know he was there if he wasn’t trying to hide it. Sighing, she tried her best to ignore him. But his presence caused her skin to prickle like a bed of needles and she found herself cracking her knuckles instead of stretching her calves.<p>She broke into a run, skipping the warm up walk and light jog for something more heart-pounding. Anything to get the feeling of him off her skin. Sweat coated her skin and she let it slide down her neck, her back, anywhere it touched. The feeling masked his eyes on her, but it wasn’t enough. Within moments, he was right beside her, matching her step for step. </p><p>As they ran, she tried to avoid looking at him, but her eyes gravitated his way naturally. It was hard not to stare. Now that he had removed his cloak, the space where his left arm should have been was empty, the form-fitting tank he wore closed off at the side as though there never was a space there for an arm at all. Just like how she had felt his gaze as she was getting ready, he felt hers now. She could feel him slowing down just enough for her eyes to shift to his face instead of his body. </p><p>When his fist suddenly collided with her chest, she was too distracted to dodge. Tumbling like a weed, she flew sideways into the dirt, rolling until she angled her wrist well enough to push herself into the air. Shifting her momentum to flow with gravity, she attempted to crash her heel down on Sasuke’s shoulder but he caught her leg easily and threw her to the side. <em>Again.</em> </p><p>Grunting loudly, Sakura thrust her hand to the ground and dug in her fingers in a desperate attempt to latch onto <em>something</em> before hitting the trees. The dirt crumbled in her hand and she scraped along its surface, digging a small trench with her fist. Finally, she gained enough traction to grab and plant her feet on solid ground. Spitting saliva on the ground, she ground her teeth and stared at the man. He wasn’t even sweating. </p><p>Was he human anymore?</p><p>“What the <em>fuck</em>, Uchiha?”</p><p>He didn’t answer and instead pressed his palm against his chin, first to the left, then to the right, cracking his neck in three quick pops. Then he lunged.</p><p>That same palm met hers and she attempted to kick his leg out from under him. He grasped onto her hand and blocked her kick with his shin. She hadn’t put enough power into her kick, and he could tell. “You’re holding back,” he murmured, clutching her hand tighter. “Or you’ve let yourself go. Now which is it?”</p><p>A low roar ripped from Sakura’s throat as her anger boiled. This man was <em>taunting</em> her, and it was fucking working. She needed to keep a level head to win, she knew this, but part of her didn’t care. “You,” she seethed, gripping his hand hard enough to hear a few of the smaller bones crack. He didn’t flinch. “You piss me off.” </p><p>Sasuke’s eyebrows rose and his lip twitched. “Is that all I make you feel, Sakura?”</p><p><em>No,</em> was the answer he was looking for, but admitting it would be admitting defeat. And Sakura wasn’t one to give in so easily. She took a step closer to him, parting her lips just slightly, and looking up at him through lidded lashes. Normally, this would leave her intended a bit breathless, a bit unguarded. But Sasuke was anything but normal. He did, however, lean slightly closer, just enough for his scent to fill Sakura’s senses. <em>Sage.</em> </p><p>As he shifted his weight, this granted her a small opening that she gladly took. Lifting her knee, she caught him in the stomach. As he crumpled, she lifted her fist to catch his jaw and sent him reeling backwards. He flipped gracefully, springing off of his hand and landing in a crouch. When he straightened, he sported a split lip and a grin. “Good. Let’s keep going.” He readied himself, sliding his heel back to prepare for anything.</p><p>They sparred for a while, Sakura attempting not to destroy too much hospital property and failing miserably. After sufficient damage had been done and Sakura knew there’d be hell to pay in the morning, she managed to jump the hospital fence and lead Sasuke off the premises. They dove through the trees after each other, breaking branches and splintering bones with ease. Sakura healed herself every time Sasuke landed a blow, but he wasn’t faring as well. In a fight of stamina, Sakura was the clear winner. She’d trained long and hard to build up stamina, endurance, and whatever else would keep her alive the longest. As a medic, that was a requirement. She had to stay alive.</p><p>Sasuke, on the other hand, was used to large bursts of power that won fights before they ever began, or finishing them in a flash. With every hit he landed, Sakura could feel his chakra crackling against her skin. <em>He</em> was the one holding back, not her. And she could tell his patience was wearing thin.</p><p>But after she landed a pretty big blow and heard his collarbone crack, she decided to tone it down. She was running out of steam anyway. She stumbled towards the top of one of the tallest hills on the village outskirts and collapsed at its peak, sucking in air so hard that it burned. Sasuke fell to his knees beside her, grimacing at the multiple broken bones she had given him. Blood trickled down his chin and his hair had blown in crazy directions from the speed at which they chased each other. He looked positively disheveled, and somehow that warmed Sakura’s heart to him. </p><p>Just enough for her to truly relax. </p><p>As her shoulders dropped and her breathing evened, she shuffled closer to Sasuke. By then, he had unraveled into a casual sitting position, his arm cradled awkwardly in his lap to ease the sting of his collarbone fracture. Sakura saw the bruising beneath the collar of his shirt and cursed under her breath. “I shouldn’t have hit so hard.” Pressing her palms to his chest, she pulsed a low chakra frequency into his body to catch all of his injuries. A number of broken bones, a swollen and bruised lower lip and jaw, internal bleeding in his lower left abdomen… <em>Yikes.</em></p><p>As though Sasuke sensed her concern, he chuckled, the sound harmonizing with the chirp of the crickets around them. “Don’t worry,” he breathed, wiping a stray drop of blood from his chin. “We both know I’ve been through worse.”</p><p>Sakura didn’t respond and took to tending his wounds. Slowly so not to cause stiffness or muscle tension, she began repairing his injuries. She started with the bleeding at his abdomen. She lowered her hands but hesitated before touching him. Technically she didn’t <em>need</em> to touch him but the healing would be much more delicate if she did. “Can I… move this? Your shirt.”</p><p>“Yes,” Sasuke murmured, clenching his jaw as her fingertips ghosted the tender spot. She carefully lifted his shirt the necessary six inches and gently pressed into the wound, forcing her chakra to weave his tissue back together and siphon the blood back into his system. This was a nasty process that made even the best shinobi faint from the sickening feeling of the blood in one’s veins being pushed in the opposite direction it normally ran, but Sasuke held it together and stared at Sakura’s face as she worked, perhaps needing something to focus on. </p><p>Or maybe he just wanted a reason to stare. </p><p>Sakura refused to be distracted so she poured more energy into his healing. Once the blood was returned and the veins reattached, she moved from his abdomen to his collar bone to right the giant fracture she’d left there. This required her to straddle his thigh to get the proper leverage, but she kept her mind focused on what she was doing rather than how she was sitting, with her knee dangerously close to his groin and the delicate part that lie there.</p><p>Part of her wanted to apologize for the extent of his wounds, but another part of her felt so <em>relieved</em> that apologizing seemed silly. It was like a weight had been removed from her shoulders and she could finally breathe. For half a second, she wondered if he knew that this is what she needed - this purging of her anger and frustration - and if he allowed her to take it out on him. Was it intentional? Or was he just trying to see what she was capable of, like he’d mentioned before?</p><p>As she adjusted her angle on his chest, she noticed that thankfully, the break hadn’t sat for too long so she didn’t need to re-break it to set it correctly. “This is going to hurt,” she said softly, her eyes flickering to his. She felt him force his body to relax before he nodded for her to proceed. They locked eyes and she drew in a deep breath, grateful that he did the same.</p><p>Quickly, she formed tendrils of chakra at the tips of her fingers and dug them into his body. She felt him stiffen as she wove her chakra threads around his collar bone, snagging them securely around it as though she were grabbing it with her hand. Tugging sharply, she forced his bone back into place and the resounding <em>snap</em> made both of them wince. Switching her chakra from probing to healing, she warmed and healed the cells there. </p><p>Finally, he exhaled long and slow, a cool breeze on Sakura’s face. Tufts of her hair tickled her neck as he breathed in and out, like the tides shifting with the moon. Sakura found herself gazing into his normal eye, the night sky reflected perfectly in its depths. As a cloud moved behind her, she could see the image clearing in its reflection as a crescent moon came into view. </p><p>After a moment, Sasuke cleared his throat. “My chest is healed now, Sakura,” he whispered. “You can get off of me now.” </p><p>Her face flushed but she stayed put. “Your lip,” she spoke, keeping her left hand on his chest as she moved her right to his mouth. Gently, she pressed two fingers to his lips and let her chakra flow there. Before her eyes, the open gash cleaned and closed within seconds. Now that most of his more serious injuries were healed, there was no reason for her to stay perched in his lap, but she lingered a moment longer, his body warm against hers. Inviting, almost. It was weird… and bordered on inappropriate. But maybe they would always be a little weird together? Another second passed and she noticed another point of contact between them; his hand grasping weakly at her hip. </p><p>She gasped then, remembering how she had broken a few bones in his hand towards the beginning of their fight. “Oh!” she cried, shifting her weight off of him to sit by his side. “You should have reminded me about your hand,” she tutted, now holding the appendage between hers. She immediately began healing all the tiny bones she felt snapped within. If anything needed healing, it was his hand - if that were messed up, she wasn’t sure just how functional it’d be in the future. And with only one arm, that hand was vitally important. </p><p>“Sakura,” Sasuke said, a little louder than before. He swallowed. “Thank you.”</p><p>The bones in his hand would take a while longer to heal, so she chanced a glance at his face one more time. He looked so peaceful in the moonlight, like he belonged there. Like he was part of the shadows and only came out to gaze up at the moon’s beauty. “You’re welcome,” Sakura replied with a soft smile. “Although I should be the one thanking you. I didn’t realize just how tense I was.” She sat back on her knees as she continued mending his hand. “So thank <em>you</em>, Sasuke. I don’t know how you knew it’s what I needed.”</p><p>He smiled then, somehow looking even more beautiful than before. His skin glowed in the low light. Sakura found herself breathless. “I know you whether you want to believe it or not,” he stated simply. </p><p>His hand finished healing and she released him. They stared fondly at each other before Sakura’s body felt the full strain of their fight. It had been a while since she’d let loose, so she was already sore and hurting. No amount of medical ninjitsu would cover growing pains. Groaning, she forced herself to stand and spread her legs to lean out and stretch her muscles in deep lunges. “Damn, I’m gonna hurt in the morning…”</p><p>Sasuke pushed himself up and curled and uncurled his fist. “You really do a good job healing,” he murmured. Sakura blinked and found herself smiling. “You’d know that if you came into the hospital more often.” He <em>tch’d</em> and looked out at the village lights below their vantage point on the hill. They twinkled like a mirror to the stars. “Too much trouble. Especially now that I have you.”</p><p>Sakura rolled her eyes but couldn’t keep the amusement from her voice. “So what, I’m your personal medic now?” </p><p>“Something like that.” </p><p>He questioned where she was staying that night - the hospital or home - and offered to walk her there either way. Sakura decided to skip the hospital bed that night. It was an easy decision considering the racket they had made just outside its doors. Maybe she’d even take a few days off until the heat from the destruction of the back field cooled off… </p><p>Sakura soon learned during the walk to her apartment that Sasuke was more animated at night, and he chatted with her in a way that an old friend would. Catching up, asking about her family, what did she like or dislike about her job, the usual subjects. Sakura suspected that he only asked such an array of questions out of politeness, or perhaps he was really trying to win her over. Either way, she found it endearing enough to invite him inside her apartment for tea. </p><p>She stood in the doorway, holding the door open for him to come inside. But he hesitated, and Sakura’s cheery demeanor deflated. “Is… something wrong?” </p><p>“No,” Sasuke replied a little too quickly. “No, it’s just… I haven’t… been here before.” </p><p>Sakura blinked and watched him shuffle from foot to foot, looking more like a boy than a man. She’d expect this behavior from a teenager nervous to take his date to the dance, not an adult who’d killed god knows how many people and saved countless others. “A hero of Konoha” the people dubbed him, even though he had other epithets whispered behind his back.</p><p>
  <em>Traitor. Deserter. Murderer.</em>
</p><p>As she looked at Sasuke now, she saw those words reflected in his eyes. It was like there was something still holding him back from accepting this new future, accepting a life he didn’t truly believe he deserved. </p><p>“Another time,” he replied stiffly, bowing as a form of goodbye. “Goodnight, Sakura. I look forward to seeing you again soon.” </p><p>Sakura watched him leave. He wove through the midnight crowd unseen, one of those talents of his that made him handy for surveillance jobs. He had a way of disappearing within a crowd that made even Sakura jealous. Most everyone knew her from reputation or experience with the hospital; it was hard for her to remain undetected.</p><p>Maybe that was something Sasuke would be giving up for her. </p><p>She closed the door and clicked the lock before making her way to the shower. All in all, she was actually grateful that he had appeared that night. If he hadn’t, she’d probably have continued hating his guts for the rest of the century. The thought of that made her heart clench since she never really <em>wanted</em> to be mad at Sasuke, and she busied herself with readying the shower. As steam filled the bathroom, she stared at her reflection until the edges blurred from condensation.</p><p>Staring back at her, she saw a woman she recognized, but her eyes shone brighter than she’d noticed in a long time. There was dirt smeared on her arms, a few crumpled leaves in her hair, and an electricity she didn’t know she possessed filling the air around her.</p><p>Goosebumps broke out on her skin and she shivered. Turning away from the mirror, she shed her clothes and stepped into the scalding hot waters, ready to cleanse herself of the hospital grime and the remnants of her fight with Sasuke. His methods were unorthodox, but he proved to her that he <em>knew</em> her in a way that only a teammate could. </p><p>But would that alone be enough for him to make a good husband, too?</p>
<p></p><div class="center">
  <p>- o -</p>
</div>The following morning, Sakura was lazily sipping tea in her favorite window seat when she saw her scroll flash on her nightstand. Groaning, she eyed it from a distance and figured if she ignored it, maybe it would go away. She turned her gaze back to the thoroughfare where all the shops were preparing their merchandise for sale that day. The baker had begun making breads and pastries hours ago, and she was tempted to casually stop by and see if they needed anything. Whenever the baker’s family was having a bad morning or someone burned themselves, they allowed Sakura to take a few pastries as payment for treating their burns.<p>It was a win-win situation, living so close to everything. If she ever needed to head to the hospital earlier than usual or arrived home late, they always opened their doors if she caught them in enough time. She’d been building this mutually beneficial relationship for a few years now and was grateful to the village for helping her, much like she was sure they were grateful to her as well.</p><p>Her stomach rumbled and she decided to go see if Genshin the baker needed any assistance that morning. Dressing casually in a loose white shirt and leggings and brushing her teeth and hair, she left her Hitai-ate on the nightstand by the scroll. She used a blue bandana to cover her hair instead, tying a knot at the base of her neck. As she left her bedroom, she peeked at it one more time to find it glowing even brighter and vibrating at a low frequency. Must have been an important message. <em>Too bad.</em></p><p>Sakura grabbed her wallet and stuffed it in her back pocket in case she needed to purchase items. Maybe she’d bring gifts to her coworkers to help soothe what was surely gonna be hell when she did go back to work. Locking her door, she took quick steps across the street towards Genshin’s bakery and was surprised to find someone already there. The bakery wouldn’t open for a few more hours - the sun had barely risen and customers weren’t normally so early - so Akamaru’s bark startled the stillness of the street as Sakura approached. </p><p>“Not now, Akamaru,” Kiba griped, tapping his dog on the nose. He was staring in the bakery window, his hands held over the glass to block the light and give him a better looksie. “The sign says closed, I know, but I know they’re in there. I can <em>smell</em> them. C’mon, open up! Please!” He rapped on the glass door right as Sakura approached. </p><p>“Don’t even bother,” he grumbled, his eyes not leaving the storefront. “They’re not in the habit of serving valued customers.”</p><p>A laugh bubbled up from Sakura’s chest and Kiba turned on her so fast, looking like the grumpiest frog in the world, that Sakura laughed even louder. “Kiba,” she wheezed, placing her arm on Akamaru for support. “Kiba, they’re not open yet. If you keep being a nuisance, they’ll never open just to spite you.”</p><p>Kiba huffed and crossed his arms. “Well they better open! I’ve got a plan and it relies on them letting me in!” </p><p>Sakura crouched in front of Akamaru and rubbed his ears, enjoying the way he leaned into her hands for a deeper scratch. While his human continued to pester the door and its building occupants, she cooed at Akamaru and he wagged his tail and licked her face. She giggled, wondering why she never got a pet of her own if they were this friendly.</p><p>“Stop that, he’ll get spoiled. He’s a ninja, not a dog!”</p><p>“Isn’t he both?” Sakura questioned, and she heard the bell above the door ring as Genshin himself opened the door. </p><p>“We’re not open,” he said sourly, “Come back later.”</p><p>Sakura stood and waved to the man. “Good morning, Genshin! I apologize for my friend; he’s just impatient.”</p><p>Upon seeing her, Genshin brightened considerably. “Oh, Sakura! I had no idea it was you out here. Could you come in? My wife turned her ankle this morning and it hasn’t set right yet.”</p><p>Nodding, Sakura walked to the door without hesitation.</p><p>“W-wait! She just gets to come in, just like that!” Kiba gaped, pointing at her accusingly. “What about me?”</p><p>Sakura glanced back at Kiba and Akamaru. She didn’t know what this ‘plan’ of Kiba’s was, but she didn’t want him to keep bothering Genshin, and if she went inside without him, she suspected that Kiba would only get louder and bother not just the bakery, but the other shops as well. Pursing her lips at him, she turned back to Genshin and asked if he could come, too. “If he’s on his best behavior,” she added, throwing a stern look Kiba’s way.</p><p>Genshin ran a hand down his face before responding. “I suppose… if he’s with you, Sakura. But the dog has to stay outside.” </p><p>Akamaru whined but Kiba shushed him with a finger. “Thank you!” Kiba cried, rushing forward and crowding Genshin and Sakura at the door. “You won’t regret this, I promise!”</p><p>Genshin didn’t look convinced, but he let both shinobi inside anyway. The baskets normally filled with bread were empty, the display case clean and the floors freshly swept. The main room was empty now, but Sakura knew in just a few hours it would be filled to the brim with fresh-baked goods. Her mouth watered at the smell wafting from the back, and she pressed forward behind Genshin without hesitation. Unsurprisingly, so did Kiba, but at least he kept quiet this time.</p><p>Sakura and Genshin inquired as to how the other was doing, how was the family, how had Noriko sprained her ankle, the usual chatter. Once they were in the back, Genshin pointed up the stairs to where his wife was resting and he turned back to his baking. “There’s a lot left to do today, so forgive me for leaving you.” He eyed Kiba for a moment and wondered aloud what the man would do while Sakura worked. </p><p>“He’s not leaving my sight,” Sakura assured Genshin, grabbing Kiba by the arm to force him up the stairs with her. “Hey!” he cried, but he was no match for Sakura’s ungodly strength so he was pulled with ease. Upon reaching the upper landing, Sakura turned straight towards Noriko’s door and knocked lightly. “Noriko? It’s Sakura. May I come in?”</p><p>She opened the door to find Noriko sitting in a rocking chair, her left leg propped up on some pillows piled on the floor. “Oh, he’s such a worrywart,” Noriko said, still allowing Sakura to kneel by her ankle. “I told him it was nothing, but he insisted that I needed to get it looked at. You shouldn’t be so quick to humor him, Sakura - that’s how the men think they’ve won.”</p><p>Sakura smiled and assessed the state of Noriko’s ankle. “It’s actually a good thing he pressed the issue, Noriko - this one’s pretty bad. I’m surprised you even made it up the stairs.” She began healing the sprain, and immediately noticed something else that made her eyes widen. “Noriko!” she cried, her healing faltering for just a moment. “Noriko, do you know?”</p><p>The glimmer in Noriko’s pale blue eyes told Sakura that <em>yes</em> she knew. “That’s why he’s so worried,” she admitted, laying her hands over her lap. “Even pregnancies brought to term lately might not make it. He’s being extra cautious.”</p><p>Nodding, Sakura agreed with Genshin this time. “He should be. Anything can happen during gestation. You should be careful,” Sakura instructed, slightly annoyed when Noriko waved her hand dismissively. “I’m fine, Sakura. We have plenty of work here to do anyhow. I can’t just sit around and do nothing for the next few months or we won’t make enough sales to keep ourselves going. I’ll just have to watch where I step in the future.”</p><p>Kiba had been standing in the doorway, but when Sakura felt his presence disappear, she looked over to find he was gone. </p><p>“Who’s the man?” Noriko asked, a twinkle in her eye. “Is he your matched person?”</p><p>“That’d be the day,” Sakura laughed, finishing Noriko’s healing and patting her on the calf. “I’m not sure I could handle him if he was my teammate, let alone my partner.”</p><p>Noriko smiled. “You’ll find that the two aren’t too different, dear. I’d even say that one of the most important things that keeps a marriage going is teamwork. You’ve got to build each other up and help in ways your partner doesn’t realize they need.”</p><p>An image of Sasuke from the night before flashed into Sakura’s mind. She must have blushed because Noriko beamed at her. “When you’re ready to dish, Sakura, come by and I’ll treat you to some dumplings.” </p><p>Sakura laughed again, a light tinkling sound that made her feel even lighter than before. “I will, Noriko. Promise.” She bid the woman goodbye and took the stairs two at a time. As the heat of the ovens greeted her, she saw that Kiba had thrown on an apron and was helping move bread from the oven to the cooling racks. </p><p>“Ah! Sakura!” Genshin cried from across the room. “How’s my fair lady? Is she going to be okay?” Flour floated through the air as Genshin kneaded dough and Kiba slipped on a small pile on the tile floor. “Careful!” Genshin barked. “I told you to hurry but that doesn’t mean you can be careless!”</p><p>“Yessir!” Kiba replied, using his sleeve to soak up sweat dripping down his face. </p><p>“Err, Noriko is fine, Genshin-san.” She watched as Kiba began moving other loaves, already cooled, onto the floor, carrying three baskets at a time. “What is Kiba doing?”</p><p>Genshin grinned then, his teeth as white as the flour on his hands. “Why, he’s helping, my dear! You’ve snagged yourself a good one. A bit rough around the edges, but he came barreling down those stairs and asked how he could help. He’s a go-getter, this one.”</p><p>Sakura’s hair stood on end and she choked out a response. “He’s- he’s not my match, Genshin.”</p><p>Genshin waved a hand just as dismissively as his wife did. “In my day, we chose who we married. You telling me you’re gonna let some algorithm decide for you?” </p><p>Kiba returned, his face red from the heat. “What next, sir?” </p><p>“Get outta here,” Genshin cried, tossing a wet rag over his shoulder. “And take the lass with you. Grab whatever you want on your way out.”</p><p>Kiba grinned gleefully and thanked Genshin just as Noriko came down the stairs. He bowed to the woman and congratulated her before ducking into the main room to choose his reward. Noriko’s eyes were still sparkling and Sakura felt both of the married couple’s eyes on her. “Okay, okay!” she cried, smiling despite herself. “I’m leaving before you two get any more ideas in your head.”</p><p>“Goodbye, Sakura. Don’t forget to come back with a story, hmm?”</p><p>She bid them goodbye and emerged from the kitchen to find Kiba staring at two different pastries still on their trays. “I just don’t know…” he mumbled, eyeing the two like he was trying to diffuse a bomb. “Which one do you think Ino would like?” he asked as Sakura approached. “I’m trying to bring her something for breakfast. Maybe she’ll be cooled off in the morning. What do you think?”</p><p>Sakura found the sentiment heart-warming, but she couldn’t stop herself from saying “Ino doesn’t eat carbs.” </p><p>Kiba scoffed and turned to face Sakura. “Doesn’t eat carbs? And what, are you gonna tell me next that all she eats is lettuce?” </p><p>She bit her lower lip to keep from laughing. The poor man had no idea who he’d been paired with. “She likes vegetables and fruits, yes. More than breads and pastries.” </p><p>Cursing, Kiba snagged four pastries and wrapped them in wax paper. “Well, she’ll just have to like them if I’m bringing them to her! Really, vegetables? For <em>breakfast?”</em></p><p>Sakura grabbed a few buns as she followed Kiba out the door. One was already in her mouth by the time the bell rang as the door swung past it. </p><p>Kiba placed the already-flaking goods in the pouch at his hip and greeted Akamaru with a pat on the head. “I just can’t believe that she won’t eat bread…”</p><p>“Not just bread,” Sakura chimed in, swallowing a mouthful of her own breakfast. “Raw fish? Hates the stuff.” The way Kiba’s forehead creased and his mouth fell ajar made Sakura feel bad for him, so she tossed him one of her buns. He caught it midair and tore into it greedily, offering Akamaru a piece he ripped off. He nodded his thanks as he chewed. </p><p>Once he swallowed, he patted at his pocket. “Did ya see our new assignment?” he asked, taking another bite of his bun. </p><p>Sakura shook her head and assumed the ‘scroll of fate’ was in his pocket. “No, I left mine upstairs.” She gestured to her apartment, and Kiba glanced that way. </p><p>“Huh, you live really close.” After a pause, he continued. “We’re supposed to follow them around for a day, see how they live and all that. What they do regularly.” His nose crinkled. “I’m gonna be surrounded by flowers all day, aren’t I?”</p><p>Sakura shrugged, already walking back to her apartment. “If you’re lucky, that’s all you’ll be doing!” She held her bun behind her back and walked backwards so she could still address Kiba. “Better hurry before your gift crumples in your bag!”</p><p>Sighing, Kiba admitted she was right, waved goodbye, and he and Akamaru bounded down the street towards Ino’s house a few blocks over. </p><p>When Sakura made her way to her bedroom, both buns already devoured, she finally picked up her scroll and it settled immediately, like a kettle removed from the burner. No longer glowing or vibrating, it unraveled without her even having to pull it open. </p><p>“Challenge 2: You must spend 24 hours with your partner, starting tomorrow at 8:00 am. Choose which partner you will follow, and keep to their regular routine. Learn what they do daily and how they do it. Once the 24 hours is up, you will wait another 24 hours before starting again with the second partner’s routine and daily life. Good luck.”</p><p>Sakura sat at the edge of her bed and fell backwards onto her comforter. She stared at the ceiling, already dreading her inevitable return to the hospital. This time, with Sasuke in tow. He was going to see her get scolded by the head of the hospital. She rolled over and buried her face in her pillow, the gears in her head already turning for what she needed to do to prepare for Sasuke’s arrival. If they were spending 24 hours together, he’d have to come into her apartment. That meant she needed to clean and tidy up the place. </p><p>Her muscles were still sore from last night, so she groaned loudly. Cleaning was the last thing she wanted to do today. Instead, she lay in bed and imagined how Kiba’s peace offering was going. Knowing Ino, she was still asleep and Kiba was about to wake a sleeping bear. She snickered at the idea of Kiba getting hit over the head with a pillow and found herself smiling as she drifted back to sleep.</p>
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